“‘God loves you’, ‘God died for you’, ‘You are the daughter of God’ are all expressions I heard and learned when I was a child, but I never understood their deep meaning. Getting used to these phrases made me stop thinking of the message behind them.
Although I grew up in faith, there were plenty of things I did not understand. For example, if God frees us, then where is He to free us from the occupation? Or how does He heal all the wounds? Or even, I used to look around searching for Him because they said He is always with us.
The moment I joined the ministry, YJHP, I became more aware of myself and the world around me. I stopped listening about God and started living for Him; I started applying faith in my daily life; I stopped reading the Bible just to know stories that occurred two thousand years ago and started reading it to know what God has to say to me today. YJHP has introduced me to the most important person in my life and accompanied me on this journey.”
This is a short testimony by a young woman who joined the Christian Youth Ministry in Palestine. JEC (Jeunesse Etudiante Chrétienne) Palestine serves about 3000 Christian children and youth (from 7 to 35 years old) belonging to different Catholic parishes, schools and churches in five Palestinian governorates and divided into 58 active Christian youth groups.
Different activities are offered to strengthen faith and values of youth and children so that they can live a transformative experience and encourage the youth’s active involvement within community based services, social, political, and economic sectors in the Palestinian society.
In 2019, the Order of the Holy Sepulchre is supporting some small projects to enable JEC Palestine and JEC Jordan to go on carrying their activities and reaching out to local youth.
Funds in Jordan will be used mostly to hold four training sessions for youth leaders with workshops conducted by specialists in different topics and to organize seven moments of socialization, fests or celebrations.
JEC Palestine as well is receiving a grant to allow Palestinian and Israeli youth to organize camps and retreats, run regular activities as well as participate in international meetings, workshops, conduct training, and awareness sessions for leaders.
An additional help was asked to buy a 7-seat vehicle with an Israeli Licensed registration plate and a big cabin to serve the general interest of the youth ministry. The car will help in providing pastoral, animation and vocational support for the youth across Palestine and Israel. The current vehicle is small and has a Palestinian registration License which does not allow it to cross Israeli checkpoints and drive in the territories under Israeli governance and that hinders the youth to attend activities conducted in the Galilee areas.
